


Behind the Mask

by JaekLeone



Category: Naruto
Genre: Continuation of the mask episode Because it was too funny to let go, Fluff, M/M, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 15:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6085200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaekLeone/pseuds/JaekLeone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iruka had never wondered what was under Kakashi's mask, at least not until Naruto put the idea in his head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read this I want to throw a quick warning at you: I only just got into Naruto recently (yes I know but it was cozy under my rock) and after marathoning episodes while working on cosplay and drowning myself in fanfiction, I decided I needed to write something for these two. It was a silly idea that grew into a fic that I just had to pound out. It pretty much goes without saying that this is my first Naruto fic, so there may be inconsistencies but I did my best to stay true to canon or at least to widely accepted fandom canon with my own little twists. I hope you guys like this little one shot and who knows, maybe I'll write more in the future.

Sometimes teaching children was tough. More often than he'd like to admit, Iruka found he'd screamed himself nearly hoarse at the few troublemakers in his class, the ones who couldn't seem to take the ninja arts seriously. His current class was difficult at times, but it was nothing compared to his last round of students. Then again, very little could compare to dealing with Naruto and his friends on a daily basis.

The sensei's stomach growled in protest to his skipped lunch, and he worked his way through the village toward Ichiraku, eager to get a belly full of Ramen before returning to headquarters for desk duty, facing the hordes of shinobi as they returned from missions. No way he could deal with the endless flow of poorly filled out paperwork without eating first.

As he drew close, a familiar voice stopped Iruka in his tracks, but the pangs of hunger in his stomach urged him on. Even Naruto wasn't enough to deter him from his task.

"Ugh, can you believe that?! It's so damn frustrating! After all that effort, it was just another mask!"

 _What in the-_ As usual Naruto was screaming about something, clearly agitated by whatever end his mischief had brought him to. Iruka was sure that he didn't want to know but pushing past the flaps and sitting on the stool would be inviting a screaming a tirade about whatever had happened to him.

With a sigh, the sensei resigned himself to his fate and entered the tiny shop. If he wasn't willing to listen to the energetic genin, then who would?

"Huh? Iruka, sensei! Man, am I glad to see you!"

Another sigh escaped as the shinobi seated himself beside the eager teen, but he offered up a friendly smile to Naruto all the same. "What has you all fired up today?"

"Oh, man, you won't believe this!" And without waiting, the blonde launched into a long winded story about his new sensei, Kakashi. It turned out, team seven had become curious about their sensei's mask and spent the better part of a week trying to sneak a peek beneath the cloth before finally confronting their teacher directly. "And then he pulled it down only to show us another mask! Can you believe that?!"

 _Under Kakashi's mask?_ The fact that those three thought they could outsmart the Jonin was almost laughable, but then again, Iruka supposed stranger things had happened when that team was involved. The teacher shook his head and gave Naruto a pat on his shoulder. "You shouldn't have expected any less from Kakashi. He never takes off his mask for any reason. At least not in public."

"I know but..." A small, aggravated pout formed on the teen's face. "He's been our teacher all this time and we don't even know what he really looks like! Don't you think that's a little weird? And well...I just wanna know what he's hiding under there!"

Hiding? That was an interesting thought, and certainly one that had crossed the minds of  many who made their home in Konoha, but not one Iruka himself had dwelled on. It was entirely possible that Kakashi had suffered some rather egregious injury to his face in the time he served as a shinobi, but then again, rumor had it he'd always worn the thin mask, even as a child. Intense scarring was still a possibility, but he would have had to had suffered the injury early in life.

"Naruto." Some of Iruka-sensei's trademarked aggravation worked its way into his voice. "Don't you think it's a bit rude to try to butt into the man's privacy? He's earned that much respect from you at least."

Naruto's jaw squared off as his pout intensified. "Aww, c'mon, Iruka-sensei, we just wanna see his face! It's not like we're going through his house or nothing."

"I mean it, Naruto." Iruka's voice was raising now, and he clenched his fist at his side to  steady himself and hold back some of the volume. "I've heard enough about the mask, so drop it, and I better not hear anything more from Kakashi."

The annoyance coming off the teen was palpable but he didn't argue further, choosing instead to direct his pout at the bowl in front of him, as if it might be more accommodating than his former teacher. Iruka was glad for that at least, taking the chance to eat some of his freshly prepared meal sitting before him while the boy was silent. He got halfway through before deciding to spare his former student the silent treatment.

"So, I heard you've been getting quite a bit of attention from Jiraya-san lately. How's that going? I imagine you're learning a lot."

Instantly the teen's face lit up. "Oh yeah! The pervy sage is actually a pretty good teacher, when he's not ogling women, of course. I mean, he leaves me to myself a lot but I learned some awesome jutsu from him!"

The storytelling promised to be long and excited, which gave Iruka plenty of time to finish off his ramen. But even more than that he was glad to hear Naruto was doing well. After all the pranks, lash outs, and aggravation he'd dealt with from the teen, he'd finally discovered some common ground with Naruto and found himself pulling for him to succeed. The news of his progress made his old teacher swell with pride and he beamed at the blonde.

"Good, keep it up, Naruto, and you might just prove you can be Hokage material yet." The wide, proud smile stretched his cheeks and he ruffled Naruto's hair. "I'm stuck on mission desk duty tonight but we'll find time to catch up again. Good luck, Naruto."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei! See you around."

The talk with Naruto had been pleasant, but it'd slowed him down enough that he'd have to run full speed to get to work with any time to spare. He poured chakra into the motion, urging his legs to push him to greater speeds. Even pushing himself he arrived at the desk with only 2 minutes to spare until his shift started.

There wasn't much of a rush at the desk; it seemed most Konaha shinobi were still out completing their missions. Either that or they would rather wait until someone other than Iruka was on duty to hand in their paperwork. He tended to be a bit harder than most on shinobi who turned in less than adequate reports, and if they could stand to wait a day to get their pay just because he expected them to be neat and thorough then they could wait for the softer hand on the next shift.

Iruka didn't have a line until the end of shift, and even then it was due more to inadequate forms than a high flow of shinobi. Still, he was glad to see the faces lined up before him. Too many of his peers were lost in the line of duty, and the lull had started to make him anxious. He stamped and filed each report as they came to him, and thanked each man or woman for their service to Konoha before dismissing them.

The line dwindled to nothing with 15 minutes to spare which gave Iruka time to tidy up and sort the last bits of paperwork littering his desk. It also, unfortunately, gave him time to think. Naruto's words began echoing around his head, as they so often did, and he found himself trying to picture the training sessions he faced with the Sannin Sage. No doubt the man had chewed Naruto out as often as his past teachers, though Iruka was willing to bet not in the same way as himself or Kakashi.

The thought of the Jounin brought another piece of his dinner conversation back into his mind and he couldn't help the exasperated huff that escaped him at the thought. Really, that the three genin thought they could, or should, unmask a shinobi as talented as their team leader was ridiculous and Iruka shook his head. Especially with such off the wall suspicions as bloated lips or overgrown teeth being hidden by such a thin layer of cloth.

Iruka, in his boredom, found himself trying to recall the last time he'd seen the older man and picture the lines of his face behind the mask. It was obvious that, at the very least, his face had no obvious deformities to it. His nose was straight, or close enough to straight as to not draw undue attention to it, and his lips and mouth seemed proportional to his face. The jawline was strong and even, as were his cheekbones, though they showed over the hem so that didn't take much guesswork. Actually, if Iruka had to make an honest assumption from what he knew of the Jounin's face, he'd say that the man was probably quite handsome under the trademark mask, and that made him just a little sad. Afterall, beauty was something that should be shared, or at least that's how Iruka himself felt.

The teacher found himself so lost in thought that he barely noticed the figure approaching the desk until it was a mere 5 feet away. He started and almost tipped backward in his chair and he snapped to attention, wanting to meet the eyes of latecomer.

Or rather, the eye. The single, lazy-looking eye of storm grey peering from beneath a skewed  hitai-ate. The single orb focused on the man behind the desk, looking him over for a moment before crinkling in an obvious smile.

"Oh, hello, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi Hatake raised his hand in a sheepish wave. "I'm not late am I?"

A quick check of the wall clock revealed that, yes, the Jounin was indeed late, but two minutes was hardly worth arguing about, especially not after the man had caught Iruka daydreaming during his shift.

"Close enough. I was just about to pack up so let’s go over your report quickly."

There was a second of hesitation before the scroll hit the desk  and Iruka quickly discovered why. Kakashi's tell tale chicken scratch filled the page with what Iruka could only hope was the right information. Beyond that, the scroll was dirty, damp on one corner, crinkled, and...was that-?

"Is this blood? Were you injured?"

The visible brow furrowed and then shot upward, followed quickly by a hand which scratched at the base of the Jounin's neck. The other hand was raised in a sheepish motion to display a bandaged finger. "Actually...it was a papercut. Guess I shouldn't rush to fill these things out."

That drew an aggravated sigh from Iruka and he stamped the paper with a bit more force than necessary. It then went into the short stack of reports for the Hokage herself to review. "That will do for now, Kakashi-sensei. Thank you for your service to Konoha and please rest well."

Kakashi offered the teacher a quick wave like salute and turned to leave, hands shoved into his pockets in a familiar display of indifference. "See you around, sensei."

Iruka heard Naruto's words echo in his head once again and stood in an instant, nearly knocking the neatly sorted scrolls to the floor. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei."

The silver haired man froze at the door, though he didn't turn. He appeared to be waiting for more than just a simple request before facing the man again.

"I wanted to talk to you...about Naruto and the rest of team 7."

"Oh?" That was apparently reason enough to stay because the Jounin leaned back and cocked his head, just enough to fix Iruka with a stare from his bared eye. "What about them?"

Suddenly, Iruka couldn't believe he was bringing this up, especially after telling the teen to drop the subject. "Well, Naruto told me about the mask fiasco and I suppose....I wanted to make sure they weren't too out of hand."

"Mask fiasco?" Kakashi turned fully now and seemed to consider those words. "Oh, yeah, that. Well it's not as if anyone snatched it from my face, so I guess no harm done. Though I wish I'd had a camera to capture the looks on their faces when I showed them a second mask underneath." The man looked thoroughly pleased by the trick he'd played on his students, the skin around his eye crinkling with his hidden smile.

Iruka let out a quiet breath though he wasn't sure why he felt relieved. "I told Naruto to lay off the subject so that should be the last you hear about it, though....I guess I can't really blame them for being curious. I bet you could count on one hand the number of people who have actually seen your face." Iruka was fighting the flush from his face, embarrassed that he seemed to be rambling to the high ranking shinobi.

Kakashi's eye scanned Iruka's face, the exposed parts of his own betraying nothing of what the man was thinking, but then something changed and the teacher could almost swear he looked a bit...mischievous.

"Oh my, Iruka-sensei. Are you curious as well? I didn't realize you were that interested in me."

The color rushed to Iruka's face and he mentally chastised himself for falling victim to the childish curiosity brought on by his former pupil's story. "I-...no, Kakashi-sensei I was just... stating a fact that's all. People are often curious about things that are hidden to them." Iruka busied himself straightening scrolls and tried to look like he was about to leave. "Well, that's all, Kakashi-sensei. I'm just going to-"

"Would you like to know what's under my mask, Iruka-sensei?

That stopped the younger man in his tracks. Was Kakashi really offering to show his face to him? Was it a trick or maybe...was he just curious to see how his fellow shinobi would act, especially since they were alone in the office. "I...I guess I wouldn't say no if you're offering. Can't say I wouldn't feel special for having you trust me that much."

Kakashi smiled beneath the mask and waved the teacher over. "Okay, just stand here and close your eyes."

"Close my...why?"

"I want to see the full effect of the reveal. With it already off."

Iruka shrugged at that and did as he was told, moving to stand in front of the Jounin. "I guess that makes sense." He took one last look at Kakashi and closed his eyes, trying hard not to show his eager anticipation.

"Okay then. Here we go." The quiet sound of rustling cloth made Iruka's stomach jump as his mind's eye tried to construct the image of Kakashi's full face before he saw it. The jaw, the lips, and maybe a potential scar or two.

While he waited, as patiently as he was able, something he didn't expect happened that made him smirk at the Jounin's paranoia. A thumb pushed the front of his hitai-ate over his closed eyes, ensuring he couldn't peek before the other was ready.

Then Iruka got the shock of his life.

Instead of leaving his face, the calloused thumb trailed lightly down his face until it brushed his lips at which point fingers cupped his cheek and urged him forward to meet warm skin.

The lips pressed to his were soft and patient, brushing against his own with a tender touch before pressing firmly against them. A strangled sound died in Iruka's closed mouth and his eyes popped open, only to be blinded by his headband. The kiss was soft but eager, deepening slowly into something with only the teasing caresses of a skilled tongue, suggesting more than was offered in that current contact.

And then it was over, Iruka's lips feeling the coolness of the other's absence as the Jounin pulled back with a quiet, satisfied sound. Before Iruka could protest, Kakashi spoke, sound muffled once again by the thin fabric of his mask. "Later, Iruka-sensei." And the sound of quiet footsteps, deliberately made, retreated from the room.

After a moment of shocked silence, Iruka realized he was standing in the middle of the office, still blinded by his own hitai-ate and he sputtered, pushing the fabric and metal guard from his eyes. His eyes glared daggers at the door, willing Kakashi to come back so he could give him a piece of his mind. But it was no use, the Jounin would be long gone now, and his chance to confront him gone for the time being.

Iruka stalked his way back to the desk and began to clear the scrolls from it with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, but he kept flashing back to the surprise Kakashi had struck him with. With a loud groan, Iruka hurried through his remaining tasks and packed up for the night. No doubt the encounter would haunt him tonight as his overactive mind probed the memory for hidden agenda, but he couldn't help but smirk at the remembered sensation of the man's lips on his, which were most certainly not blimp lips.

Not that he'd ever tell Naruto that. Let the boy wonder about it, because Iruka certainly wasn't about to kiss and tell.


End file.
